2 Samuel 16:13

Contextual Overview

⁵ And when king David came to Bahurim, look, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out, and cursed still as he came. ⁵ As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul's family. ⁵ And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came out, and cursed still as he came. ⁵ As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out and cursed him. He was from Saul's family group, and his name was Shimei son of Gera. ⁵ Then King David reached Bahurim. There a man from Saul's extended family named Shimei son of Gera came out, yelling curses as he approached. ⁵ And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name [was] Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. ⁵ When king David came to Bahurim, behold, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out, and cursed still as he came. ⁵When King David came to Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there. He was of the family of Saul's household and he was cursing continually as he came out. ⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. ⁵ Therfor kyng Dauid cam `til to Bahurym, and lo! a man of the meynee of the hows of Saul, Semey bi name, sone of Gera, yede out fro thennus; he yede forth goynge out, and curside.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cursed: 2 Samuel 16:5, 2 Samuel 16:6

cast dust: Heb. dusted him with dust, Acts 23:23, It was an ancient custom, in those warm and arid countries, to lay the dust before a person of distinction, by sprinkling the ground with water. Dr. Pococke and the consul were treated with this respect when they entered Cairo. The same custom is alluded to in the well-known fable of Phedrus, in which a slave is represented going before Augustus and officiously laying the dust. To throw dust in the air while a person was passing was therefore an act of great disrespect; to do so before a sovereign prince, an indecent outrage. But it is probable that Shimei meant more than disrespect and outrage to this afflicted king. Sir John Chardin informs us, that in the East, in general, those who demand justice against a criminal throw dust upon him, signifying that he ought to be put in the grave, and hence the common imprecation among the Turks and Persians, "Be covered with earth," or, "Earth be upon thy head.

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 19:21 - cursed

Cross-References

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no [children]: and she had a female slave, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children, but she had a slave girl from Egypt named Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:1
Therfor Sarai, wijf of Abram, hadde not gendrid fre children; but sche hadde a seruauntesse of Egipt, Agar bi name, and seide to hir hosebonde, Lo!

Genesis 16:1
And Sarai, Abram's wife, hath not borne to him, and she hath an handmaid, an Egyptian, and her name [is] Hagar;

Genesis 16:1
Now Abram's wife Sarai had not borne a child to him, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And as David and his men went by the way,.... In the high road that led to Bahurim, taking no notice of the cursing of Shimei, which made him bolder and more impudent; here is a large pause in the Hebrew text, in the midst of this verse:

Shimei went along on the hill side over against him; as David and his men walked in the plain, he went on a range of hills that ran along right against them:

and cursed as he went; continued his curses and imprecations, to which he was the more emboldened by the behaviour of David and his men:

and threw stones at him, and cast dust; in a way of contempt, though the stones recoiled on his own head, and the dust flew in his own face, as the consequence of things showed; and now David composed and penned the seventh psalm, Psalms 7:1.